More on Metabolic Surgery

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More on Metabolic Surgery

Gastrointestinal Metabolic Surgery

Metabolic Surgery

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Bariatric surgery, (from the Greek 'baros' meaning weight) indicates a variety of gastrointestinal surgical procedures primarily aimed at inducing durable weight-reduction in morbidly obese patients; in fact, for several decades, it has been synonymous with "weight loss surgery".

Bariatric surgery, however, results in dramatic improvement of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and reduction of overall mortality. Experimental studies from our team at the NYP/Weill Cornell Metabolic and Diabetes Surgery Center show that the anti-diabetes effect of certain bariatric procedures, particularly gastric bypass surgery, results from mechanisms beyond weight loss, supporting the rationale for surgical treatment of type 2 diabetes, including in less obese patients.

The recognition that mechanisms and benefits of bariatric surgery extend beyond weight loss question the appropriateness of the name bariatric surgery, which reflects only the goal of weight-reduction. In fact, the concept of "metabolic surgery" has emerged to indicate a surgical approach aimed at control of metabolic illnesses, not just excess weight.

Metabolic surgery includes surgery for diabetes (diabetes surgery), surgery for obesity and metabolic syndrome, and also surgery for weight reduction when weight per se represents a significant burned on quality of life (bariatric surgery).

A review of our database at the NYP/Weill Cornell Metabolic and Diabetes Surgery Center shows that overall, 80% of patients operated on in our program have at least one metabolic disorder such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, increased lipids or sleep apnea. About 60-70 % of patients operated on in our program have diabetes (as compared to usual bariatric programs that have only 20-30% of patients with diabetes).